You Can Count On Me
by Alli Elizabeth
Summary: A one-shot meant for a swap with my sister DragonoftheCrayonBox. It's been done a while, but I guess she's never gonna finish hers. Oh well! Enjoy! Rikuxoc Rikuoc Hints at SoraxKairi SoKai (Prompt: zombie apocalypse) OC


"C'mon, Kairi!" I wave her over. "Let's set up the dummies!"

With a little resistance, the red-head starts helping me line up training targets. "Why are we doing this again?"

"I told you! It's because we need to be prepared!"

She laughs and says, "Haru, it's not really gonna happen. Everyone jokes about it, but it's just for fun."

I roll my eyes at her skepticism. "You say that now, but just think about it. All the movies and comics about it didn't just spring up out of nowhere. Are you sure there's _no chance_ of it being a real thing?"

"Well, even if there is, do you really think it'd happen _here?_ I mean, we're surrounded by water. How would it get here?"

"Who's to say we'll still be here when it comes around? We could be living someplace else. You really wanna stay on this island forever?"

Shaking her head, she straightens one dummy's coconut head. "You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

"Eh." I shrug, situating the final mannequin. "Okay, that's the last of 'em. You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Kairi walks a ways away from me. "You go first."

I pull out my brother's old switchblade and get ready.

"3... 2... 1... GO!"

I leap at one of the targets, driving the blade into its head and marking a "kill."

Kairi, doing her part, grabs the poles attached to another one's arms and moves the dummy as though it were coming after me.

I duck under its flailing limbs and land another killing blow.

Kairi drops it and goes for the next one, an almost unnoticeable smile on her face. No matter what she says, she has fun when we do this.

One by one, my blade marks each of the already marred coconut heads. There's only been one close call so far; Kairi nearly trapped me, but I managed to slip free.

"Umm... what are you doing?"

We both freeze and whip our heads towards the voice.

Sora and Riku are standing a few yards away, matching expressions on each of them. ...They really don't know?

"Training," I reply, although they should be able to figure it out on their own.

Riku, who seems hesitant to say anything, asks, "...For what?"

"The zombie apocalypse. What else?"

Whatever answer they were expecting, that obviously wasn't it. "Huh? What zombie apocalypse?" Sora questions.

My red-haired friend giggles and points my way. "Haru says we need to 'be prepared,' just in case."

"Are you mocking me?" I inquire, which only earns me more laughter.

The boys come closer, and Sora says, "Haru, zombies aren't real. There's not gonna be any apocalypse."

"Uh-huh. You believe what you want. But, it _could_ happen," I reason. "All it'd take is, like... a bad batch of flu shots."

Riku examines one of the fallen dummies. "...I can't say I agree with you, but I admit, I'm a little impressed at the amount of effort you put into it."

"Kairi helped," I make sure to add.

"Yeah, I still can't believe that."

Kairi shrugs and explains, "Well, Haru needed someone to train with. She asked Tidus and Wakka, but, umm... they-"

"They laughed in my face," I finish. "Selphie wasn't much help, either."

Sora smirks at Kairi's sheepish expression. "So, you caved."

"Did not! I volunteered!" she insists.

The brunette then asks, "Why didn't you ask _us_ to help?"

"Because I knew you'd laugh at me," I answer honestly, without spite. "And my lovely assistant had already agreed to it."

"We wouldn't have laughed at you," Sora protests. "...Well, _I_ wouldn't have. As for Riku...?"

"Eh, maybe some light mocking," the silver-ette admits. "I do think this 'training' is unnecessary, though."

"Yeah," his best friend agrees. "You're not gonna need to know how to fight zombies, or any other bad stuff. You're safe here."

"Says you," I throw back. "Maybe Kairi's okay with being a flower, but I'm not. I wanna be ready, in case something happens one day."

"What are you so worried about? You have us!" Sora proclaims, puffing out his chest.

I roll my eyes at his macho act. "No offense, Sora, but I'd rather not have to rely on _you_ in a fight."

"Hey!"

While the rest of us snicker at his expense, Riku takes a step towards me. "What about me?"

"...What _about_ you?" I parrot, not catching his meaning.

"You don't have to rely on Sora; you can count on _me._"

I ponder that statement, ignoring the metaphorical butterflies in my tummy. "As much as I appreciate that, how can I count on you?" I point my knife towards him tauntingly. "You don't know the first thing about fighting zombies."

"True," he concedes. Now smirking, he bats my hand away and says, "But, so what? If you were being chased by a horde of undead, I'd find a way to stop 'em."

"Aww. Thanks, Riku," I say, going along with it.

Kairi perks up all of a sudden. "Looks like you've got a survival-buddy for the apocalypse! Which means _I'm_ off the hook!"

Sora adds, "Yeah! And, don't worry about Kairi. I'll keep an eye on her!"

"Oh, I know you will. Both eyes, in fact," I retort, knowing as well as Riku about Sora's little crush. It's adorable, really.

"What do you mean?" Kairi asks me, oblivious.

"Nothing. Just that he'll be extra careful," I cover. "Because he knows I'll kill him if anything happens to you. Right, Sora?"

"Uh, right..." I bet he thinks I can't see that blush. "So, does this mean you're done training?"

My gaze drifts back to Riku. If I keep going, he might think I don't trust him to protect me. "...I guess."

"Yay!" Kairi cheers. "Thanks, guys!" Next thing I know, she's taking off down the beach.

"Way to make it seem like I forced you, Red!" I call after her.

Sora runs after her, predictable as ever.

I cross my arms and huff, "Hmph... Traitor."

"Ah, don't worry. At least you still have me."

"Optimism and conceit all at once. How _do_ you do it, Riku?"

He grins and remarks, "What can I say? I'm pretty talented." His eyes follow our friends' retreating forms. "You wanna follow 'em?"

"Nah, I should probably put these things away," I reason, gesturing to the dummies. "You can go, if you want."

"I'm good. Sora and I hung out all morning; I could use a break."

"If you say so," I murmur, starting to shuffle one of the mannequins towards the shack. Riku follows with another one in tow, so I try not to let on how heavy this thing is.

"So, these things are supposed to be zombies, huh?"

"Hey, I didn't have much to work with!" is my defense. "They serve their purpose."

"And the faces?"

I glance up at the painted-on googly eyes and pointy teeth, complimented by splotches of fake blood. "I felt it was necessary."

"I'm sure," he laughs, keeping pace with me easily.

We continue this for a short while, putting the dummies away with him poking fun at me at random intervals. After about ten minutes, we're finally down to the last ones.

I set mine upright with the rest. "There!" I chirp.

He copies me, but stoes to eye them for a moment. "...Ya know, they're kinda creepy in dim light like this."

"Tell me about it," I agree, trying to ignore their angry-looking expressions. "At least I got _that_ right."

"Oh, yeah, _very_ realistic," he mocks, coming up behind me.

"Okay, I get it. Dumb idea. Point taken." I glare at the stupid things, pouting. "I'll take the uglies apart tomorrow. C'mon," I say, turning to walk out. I stumble forward, though, when my foot collides with something. "Ouch!"

There's clattering from next to me, but before I can turn to investigate-

"Watch out!" Riku tackles me to the floor of the shack.

*CRASH*

Where I'd been standing, two of the mannequins are in a heap, pieces everywhere.

"Jeez..." I must've kicked one of the poles attached to their arms.

"You okay?" my friend asks, getting to his knees above me. His hands are pressed to the ground near my shoulders.

"Yeah..." There's not much room for me to sit up, so I stay where I am. "Nice save."

He smirks down at me. "Well, if you weren't such a klutz..."

I shove him a little, only causing him to lean back and laugh. It gives me enough space to prop my elbows under me, though.

"Hey, at least I kept my promise." At my confused look, he nods towards the dummies. "I saved you from the zombies."

...As if. "Oh, please! That's not the same thing!"

"What? Sure it is! Look at them, they're _clearly_ zombies, and they almost got you!"

I roll my eyes. "Yes, Riku, thank-you **so** much for saving me from the coconut-zombies. How can I _ever_ repay you?" ...Why's he smirking again?

"That's easy. How does the damsel in distress _always_ reward the hero?"

"...Are you serious right now?"

His grin is extremely unnerving. "Guess."

...Well, frick. What do I do now?

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" he teases.

I'm sure it's obvious how nervous I suddenly am. "...I must be crazy," I mutter, sitting up as far as I can. With boldness I hadn't thought possible, I shut my eyes and kiss Riku, too scared to see his reaction.

He goes rigid at my advance; he probably didn't think I'd do it.

Before he can push me away, I reel back a few inches and dare to open my eyes. "There. Happy?"

He blinks a few times, maybe recovering from the shock. "I, um..." is all he can manage.

My nervousness is turning into anger, now. "If you were kidding just to mess with me, I'll-" The rest of my sentence is muffled by his lips. "Mmph..."

His kiss is firm, much more confident than mine had been. Longer, too, until he pulls away with a quiet pop of our lips.

Neither of us says anything for a minute; me, because my brain seems to have fizzled out, and him... he's probably waiting for me to say something.

"Riku," I get out. "I..." And, that's the end of _that_ thought process.

"You surprised me, ya know," he tells me, quiet and slow. "I thought you were gonna hit me. Push me away, or something... but, _that..._"

Okay, my brain's starting to reboot. "...I still could, if you want."

He smiles that boyish smile, the one that makes me turn to goo. "That's okay. ...I liked your first response better, anyway."

All that my stupid girl-ness lets me do is blush and look at the floor. "...Me, too."

He laughs at my shyness, only making my blush worse. "You're so cute... That was your first one, wasn't it?"

"..." This is so embarrassing! "Is that bad?"

"No," is his immediate reply. "I'm glad, actually." He gets up carefully, holding a hand out for me.

Confused, I follow him up and ask, "Glad? Why?"

" 'Cuz now, no matter what happens," he starts, smirking again, "that'll be something we shared."

"Huh? ...You mean, that was your-?"

"Uh-huh. Don't tell, okay?"

Knowing that was Riku's first kiss, too, I don't feel quite as nervous. "I won't, I promise."

"Good." The smirk shifts back to a smile, and his hold on my hand tightens. "So..."

"Sooooo...?" I mimic, wondering what he's thinking.

"I guess, since that was your first kiss, you've never had a boyfriend before, either."

Just like that, I'm bright red again. "Yeah? And?"

His smile grows, but he says nothing.

"...What? Are you offering to be that 'first' too?"

"You say that like you wouldn't believe it if I was."

...What am I supposed to say to that?

"Ya know, that's twice in, like, ten minutes you've been struck speechless." Aaaand the smirk is back. "Don't tell me you're falling for me already."

Ugh, _there's_ his ego. I was beginning to wonder where it'd gone. "Yeah, right!" Scoffing, I pull my hand free and try to move around him to the door. "Eep!" I'm suddenly spun around by the arm and pulled flush against Riku's body.

Before I can even think of resisting, he's kissing me again. He holds my wrists against his chest, making it impossible for me to push him away. After a second, though, I realize I don't really want to.

Knowing there's no point in fighting it, I give in and go with it. The tension is eased from my arms, and Riku smirks again when he feels them go limp.

Satisfied that he's won, he pulls away, but only enough to rest his forehead against mine. "...How about now?"

I have to smile, staring up into those aqua eyes of his. "Maybe... a little."

Riku smiles back upon hearing my answer. "Enough to consider going out with me?"

I wiggle my wrists so he loosens his grip. Rather than moving away, though, I grab his hands, too nervous to do much else. "I'll go out with you... but you have to promise me something."

"What is it?"

"...That you'll help me train sometimes. And, I'm not talking about the whole 'apocalypse' thing." I look down at the floor. "I know you said you'd protect me. I believe it, too. I just... it works both ways, y'know?"

He quiets for a moment, debating. "It doesn't have to, though. ...Are you sure?"

I nod, meeting his gaze again. "I want to be strong, like you. Besides, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I made you do all the work?"

He chuckles, nodding back. "Okay... I promise, Haru."

Grinning, I peck his lips and reach up to hug him. "Thank-you, Riku."

"Thank-_you_ for saying 'yes.' "


End file.
